Alleged police abuses of power protested

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

Officer-related shootings

Since 1995, 18 officer-related shootings in North Las Vegas have left six people dead and seven injured. In five of the shootings no one was hit. Here are the year-to-year numbers of shootings:

Alleging rampant abuses of power by the North Las Vegas Police Department, two civil rights organizations are staging a rally tonight to call on the City Council to address the issue.

The Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- headed by President Gene Collins -- and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada -- led by Executive Director Gary Peck -- have planned the rally for 6:30 p.m. outside North Las Vegas City Hall.

While the groups are discussing the allegations, the City Council will be holding its regularly scheduled council meeting inside Council Chambers.

City Manager Kurt Fritsch said the council has heard rumors about the rally but is not aware of the specific concerns. He added that he has not been contacted by either of the groups.

"What's disappointing to us is that we have not been approached by the ACLU or the NAACP on any issue regarding the city," Fritsch said.

Fritsch said that North Las Vegas Councilman John Rhodes last month requested information on the police department from him and the city attorney's office.

Fritsch supplied the requested information on the race breakdown of city jail inmates. Rhodes also asked the city attorney's office for data on how many lawsuits have been filed against the police department.

Rhodes also asked the police department for information about officer-related shootings, said Police Lt. Art Redcay.

Fritsch said Rhodes' questions were similar to statements made on an anonymous flier sent out several weeks ago to a predominately black neighborhood, asking residents to attend the rally.

The flier -- which asks residents to "help protect our rights" -- claims that since 1997 there has been a "huge" increase in officer-involved shootings and in the use of force by the police department.

According to statistics provided by the police department, since 1995 the department has had 18 officer-involved shootings. There were five this year, zero in 1999, two in 1998, three in 1997, three in 1996 and five in 1995.

Six of those shootings were fatal, five were misses and seven caused injuries. One of the fatal shootings was former officer Raul Elizondo Jr., who was killed in the line of duty on Jan. 30, 1995.

The flier also claims that "never before has the city of North Las Vegas faced so many lawsuits in state and federal court because of the police department."

City Attorney Sean McGowan could not be reached for comment Tuesday and today on how many lawsuits have been filed.

The flier also alleges that there are civil rights violations and cover-ups, claims that have been made to the City Council by former police officers Mike Thomas and John Armstrong, who have filed lawsuits against the department and city.

Redcay said although Rhodes asked for reports relating to the officer-related shootings, he was not supplied with the information because such investigations are handled internally and are not public.

When an officer is involved in a shooting, the police department takes the case to a review board, made up of police officers. The case is considered an internal investigation and the findings are not made public.

With Metro Police, all officer-related shootings go through a use-of-force board, of which a majority are citizens. The findings of the board are released, but the discipline normally is not released unless the officer is fired.

"Come to the rally and ask the chief and the City Council why they withhold this information from the public that pays them!" the flier says.

Rhodes Tuesday was asked whether he gave the information he received on the police department to the ACLU or the NAACP. He said he requested the information for his own, personal knowledge.

"A lot of people lately have said I've done a lot of things," Rhodes said. "I guess the best thing I can tell you is to show up for the rally."

In response to the flier, Police Chief Joey Tillmon released a number of statistics, writing, "The accusations against the conduct and professionalism of this department are false."

Peck declined to give specifics on what will be brought out during the rally, but said it was sparked because of recent officer related shootings, shootings he calls "questionable."

Peck also said the city should not withhold reports relating to officer-related shootings.

"There has been a pervasive pattern of police misconduct relating to shootings and other abuses and the failure of the City Council to do anything about it," he said. "It's a problem that's been neglected for a long time."